President Ali has been consistent that he is taking Guyana into the future
Please allow me space in the letters column to share my views on the Natural Resource Fund. In 2020, the people of Guyana went to the polls and voted Irfaan Ali to be the President of Guyana. With his election, the people of Guyana rejected the vision and open corrupt practices of APNU-AFC. President Ali’s vision is to develop Guyana for all its citizens, and from day one he has done so, which is to rebuild and improve drainage and irrigation systems, roads, bridges, water distribution, electricity generation and distribution, health care, and education. He provided for the poor through food distribution and direct monetary aid. He created systems and policies to ensure that these social issues are remedied for the long term. Thousands who would have suffered because of natural disasters, have benefitted from the government’s direct intervention.
Since taking office, President Ali has been consistent that he is taking Guyana into the future, and taking Guyana into the future will not happen with a donkey cart infrastructure. I will let the economists tally the man hours and monies that have been lost because of a lack of a modern social and physical infrastructure, and the amount of monies to be realized with a modern one. Throughout the length and breadth of Guyana, the people have welcomed the President’s plans. Our people are asking for more, not less. Nowhere in Guyana are our citizens saying, I want less roads, less electricity, less water, etc… The President has reduced taxes, while engaging in a national rebuild through prudent management of our treasury. For decades, Guyana has gone bowl in hand, asking for loans and aid to mend and rebuild our dilapidated social and physical infrastructure. We are fortunate today, to have revenues from oil which can fast track our efforts. The objective, as the President has outlined in numerous speeches, is to build a modern Guyana, which will improve the quality of life for all Guyanese, and to attract Foreign Direct Investments.
President Ali has proposed using some of the revenues from oil and gas to do just that, while increasing transparency and oversight. Out of the woodworks come the regular suspects with their not so hidden political agenda. Under the guise of transparency, they want the President and his government to hand over control of the Natural Resource Fund to them (I will not call them organizations since many can’t produce a membership list). Who elected them? Who do they represent? Do we allow sixty-two people who are parroting the opposition’s failed ideas to hijack development? Some are the same individuals who could not find their pens or voice while APNU-AFC was trying to rig the election. Some are the same ones who want to keep the oil in the ground. And many cannot garner a single vote at the ballot box. The people of Guyana voted for Irfaan Ali to be President of Guyana. We entrusted him with managing our natural resources and the treasury. He must be given support, free of those with fringe ideas and agendas, to bring his vision to fruition. He will be held accountable at the ballot box, if he fails. His track record, so far, has demonstrated that he can get things done, while maintaining transparency and oversight. What is the track record of his detractors?
Sincerely, Sherlock Depoo